We have spent most of the last two weeks working in small groups with Sam McBane Mulford, Rob Cameron, and Monique Wood, all of Anderson Brule Architects. After sorting through a wealth of information from the various community meetings and the literature available about libraries and information delivery, our charge has been to develop a cohesive plan to deliver library services through the year 2030.

The exercises designed by ABA have been fun and rewarding for staff. They certainly have tested our ability to look that far into the future. Some staff members involved in the process have been with the library for many years, and there are brand new librarians involved as well. We tried to include fulltime and part-time staff from various types of positions, too. One participant, Juanita Harris, has been a librarian at Sunnyvale Public Library for nearly 40 years. So, I would say that she has seen some changes in library services! Juanita tried to describe to me some sort of onion skin paper that made copies as you wrote. It sounded like magic from the way she described it. A few of the other long-time staffers talked about the EDP (electronic data processing) or keypunch cards that recorded the loan of materials on the “state-of-the-art” computer. Sunnyvale and the library business have come a long way since then!

One thing that is still consistent in terms of community need from its library is the book. Although not many people said this in our community meetings, there are some people who believe the book will soon be passé. Others are very sentimental about books and believe that books are here to stay because of the look, feel, smell and longevity of that format. There’s still a comfort that derives from reading a book. The reality is probably some combination of books as well as electronic information delivery to a variety of devices at or by means of the library. Our biggest challenge for the Sunnyvale Library of the Future is to do the research, read the signs of what is likely to come, and to be forward thinking about what the information delivery systems could be in future years. We have to plan accordingly, keeping our plans flexible enough to allow the library to be what it must be in the future in order to be relevant to the community.

In our brainstorming with ABA, one of our tasks was to create a new mission statement. After a lot of discussion, the following morning one of our staff members, Joyce Hanson, was burning to tell us what she had dreamed up. After hearing it, we all agreed it fits us now and hopefully, from now on.

Sunnyvale Public Library
Your Gateway to Knowledge, Enrichment and Enjoyment
Today, Tomorrow and in the Future!

The Library staff had an eventful week of planning for the future and showcasing current services to the community. A group of 20 library staff members met with ABA on Tuesday and Wednesday to develop a plan of service for the library of the future. Staff really enjoyed the process designed by ABA to identify parameters for the types of services that would be important. Our goal is to design services based on the input community members have given over the last few years. Results show that there was a common theme of “keep doing what you are doing and more.”

One of the highlights of the week was the Sunnyvale Public Safety Eighth Annual Community Pancake Breakfast and Safety Fair. In past years more than a thousand community members have participated in this Saturday morning event. While I do not have the final count for this year, I would guess the same was true for Saturday, October 14.


Library Booth at the Public Safety Pancake
Breakfast on Saturday, October 14, 2006

Members of the Library Board of Trustees were on hand to meet and greet the public. Trustee members Jim Griffith, John Lilly, Kathleen Meagher, and Narendra Pathak spent much of their morning at the library’s booth talking about library services and showing examples of library materials. An important topic of conversation was, “What is happening with the plans for a new library?”

Library staff had prepared notebooks with information about the visioning process for the Sunnyvale Library of the Future highlighting the steps that have been taken and those that are to follow. In particular, the future meetings scheduled to discuss this topic - Library Board of Trustees meeting dates, and Council meeting dates, were pointed out.

I thought library staff did an exceptional job developing the themes and pulling together the materials for the booth. It looked fabulous, was very interesting to the community members, relevant, and informative. I’d like to give a special thank you to staff member, Rachel (Ray) McConnell. Ray took the lead in making arrangements for the booth and stayed at the fair the entire morning. Her enthusiasm about the services and materials we provide was evident and infectious.

My most gratifying moment at the booth - the dad and son that noticed the flyer about the November 1 program in which NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, Eric Norris will be at the library to do a presentation titled, “The Golden Age of Astronomy is Now.” The dad’s question, “Is it alright if my son comes along to the program?” Our answer: “You betcha!” And then, the son picked up the book about astronomy or space exploration which was on display at the booth. He quietly started reading it, right then and there! As they say, “priceless!”

Similar results were reported for last night’s City-sponsored event, the Columbia Neighborhood Center Family Fun Night. Staff members Beth Nord and Marti Krow-Lucal arranged for a library booth at the event. They were thrilled with the turnout and energized by their contact with community members. Beth and Marti reported that community members showed a high level of interest in the library, thanks to the bilingual storytimes, displays and gifts. Thank you Marti and Beth for your extra efforts as well! Again, “priceless!”


Columbia Neighborhood Center, Oct 18, 2006

Wow! We’ve had an active week reviewing the initial draft of the Needs Assessment portion of the report on the Sunnyvale Library of the Future. It’s always challenging and exciting to wade through the decision-making process of what information is most important in this sort of document, and what format would be best received by the audience. There are still so many decision points looming that eventually will help the City Council determine what path to take. We will keep doing our best. We have a great group of people working on the project, diversely talented and professional. We all stand ready to do our part!

One of the biggest questions/challenges about the Library of the Future project relates to funding. If the concepts and recommendations for a new library are approved by Council, where will the funding come from? While there is no definitive answer to that yet, a small, influencial group is making a headstart.

Two members of the Homestead High School Future Business Leaders of America club have come forward with an offer to help. Rohit Ramchandani (left) and Max Babicz (right) met with me several months ago to offer assistance to the Library. They see the library as a source of support for the community’s students, and they wanted to lend a helping hand as part of the public service component of their Future Business Leaders of America program.

Among the considerable assistance they have already given, is an offer to raise funds for the Library of the Future by organizing a dodge ball tournament featuring the teachers of Homestead High School on November 2, 2006. The funds raised will be the first official offer of a contribution toward the Library of the Future. How fitting to have that first offer of a contribution come from our future leaders! And just as fittingly, we anticipate that the funds raised will be used toward furnishings and materials for the Teen section of the new library!

Thank you Rohit, Max, and Homestead High School Future Business Leaders of America! Many thanks to the students and teachers who will attend and/or participate in the dodge ball tournament You are so awesome! Because of you, I am all the more encouraged and energized over our preparations to serve the next generation at the Sunnyvale Public Library.

I’ve been dilly-dallying about getting my next installment up on this Blog. It’s a bit of a challenge to know the exact, right thing to say each time but once I get started, it’s not quite so difficult. I suppose that’s the way it is whenever you procrastinate, right?

Great news though in terms of outreach for the Sunnyvale Library of the Future - our meetings at the Library specifically related to the Library of the Future concluded last week. However, the Library had scheduled another big event called Lakewood Family Fun Night on September 28, one week and a day after the Community Forum and it turned into another opportunity to reach community members. The Lakewood Family Fun Night event was planned as an open house at the Sunnyvale Public Library through the efforts of the Lakewood School Librarian, Valerie Torres, the Lakewood School PTA, and the Sunnyvale Library Children’s Division. Several teachers and the Principal helped manage the event.

The Friends of the Sunnyvale Public Library paid for the transportation, which turned out to be a super bus, and the PTA arranged for the food which was in large part donated by Lee’s Sandwiches. Thanks to all those efforts, there were over 170 people here in our little ole library’s program room to hear about the library’s services, check out books and other materials, and of course, enjoy the food. It was a very festive evening full of good stories, great books, camaraderie, family togetherness, and a clear message of support for education at Lakewood School.

As I was saying, it was a very special outreach opportunity as well. The big bonus of the evening was that our bilingual staff, including yours truly, had the opportunity to talk with our Family Fun Night audience about the Sunnyvale Library of the Future in Spanish and English. We asked for feedback about what barriers exist to library use, what people think they will want from their library in the future, etc. The responses were very similar to those obtained through other efforts, such as through the Library of the Future Web site and the various meetings we’ve held. What stood out was that there were far more requests for literacy training, materials to help learn English, and the return of the bookmobile.

All of the comments and data collected so far are being compiled by our consultant, Anderson Brule Architects, for the Needs Assessment part of the report we plan to deliver to Council in January. We expect to discuss this part of the report at the next Library Board of Trustees meeting on November 6. I hope you will consider dropping by to hear about it first hand and give us your feedback. One way or another, through our Web site, through this Blog or at the Library Board meeting, we would love to hear from you.